Locking device for vehicle doors



Nov. s, 1935. E. N. JACQBI 2,019,817

LOCKING DEVICE FOR VEHICLE yDOORS Filed March l2, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet lNouv. 5, 1935. E. N. .JAcoBl 2,019,817

LOCKING DEVICE FOR VEHICLE DOORS Filed March 12, 1954' 2 sheets-sheet 2.I "INI Patented Nov. 5, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Briggs 8aStratton Corporation,

Milwaukee,

Wis., a corporation of Delaware Application March 12, 1934, Serial No.715,121

9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in locking devices for vehicledoors and has as a general object to simplify and reduce the cost ofsuch locking devices.

Another object of this invention is to provide a locking device soconstructed as to readily accommodate variations in the thickness of thedoors and compensate for inaccuracies and misalignment between the holein the door through which the lock cylinder is inserted, and the otherlocking mechanism.

And a further object of this invention is to provide a locking device ofthe character described in which a cam formed integrally on or carriedby the inner end of the regular lock cylinder slides a locking bolt intoand out of engagement with shoulders on a part operable directly by thehandle, to secure this part against actuation.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the novel construction,combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly dened by the appended claims, it beingunderstood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

1n the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated one complete example ofthe physical embodiment of my invention constructed according to thebest mode I have so far devised for the practical application of theprinciples thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a horizontal section view through a conventional vehicledoor illustrating the application of this invention thereto;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the locking mechanism per se showndetached from the door;

Figure 3 is an end view of the door with parts broken away and insection showing the position of the locking mechanism therein; and

Figure 4 is a front edge view of the portion of the door adjacent thelock mechanism with parts broken away and in section to illustratestructural details.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings in whichlike numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views. thenumeral 5 designates a hollow vehicle door of any conventionalconstruction embodying an outer front wall 6, an end wall l, and aninside wall 8. As is customary, the door is provided with a windowopening closed by a glass S arranged to travel vertically within thehollow of the door.

A latch bolt III is also mounted in the door as is customary, to projectfrom the end wall 1 for engagement with a keeper recess (not shown). Themechanism for yieldably projecting the latch bolt Ill to its operativeposition is not illustrated, but may be of any suitable construction. Toretract the bolt, other mechanism (also not shown) is operable by a linkI I (see Figure 2) connected to a U-shaped actuator I2 mounted on theframe I3 of the latch mechanism. 'Ihe actuator turns about a fixed axisand is driven by a handle Il, whose square shaft I5 projects into thedoor for connection with the actuator.

The front arm I6 of the U-shaped actuator I2 is enlarged and notched toprovide a locking shoulder Il on its lower periphery. As shown, thisfront arm I6 ofthe actuator directly overlies the adjacent front wall I8of the frame I3, Where it is retained by a strap I9 riveted to the WallI8. The adjacent inner end of the square handle shaft extends throughopenings in the strap I9 and the front arm I6 and into a bushing 20,freely rotatably mounted in a bearing 2| formed as part of the wall IB.'Ihe engagement of the shaft I5 with the arm I6 is non-rotatable so thatrotation may be imparted to the actuator from the handle shaft.

Beneath the actuator and engageable with the abutment or shoulder II isa slidable locking bolt 22. As best illustrated in Figure 4, the lowerportion of the strap I9 has a bent lip 23 to guide the locking end ofthe bolt 22 into locking engagement with the shoulder II. Besidesguiding the bolt 22 into proper engagement with the shoulder I1, the lip23 affords a solid support for the locking bolt to preclude forcedturning of the handle when the mechanism is set in its locked position.

The locking bolt 22 is slidably mounted on the adjacent front wall I8 ofthe frame by a rivet 24 fixed to the front wall and received in anelongated slot 25 in the bolt, so that the bolt may be readily slid intoand out of engagement with the shoulder I1. At its lower end, the bolthas a spring tail piece 26 riveted thereto. which provides a camfollower to engage a cam 2l on the inner end of a lock cylinder 28mounted in a manner to be later described, so that upon rotation of thecylinder, the locking bolt is slid into and out of operative engagementwith the abutment II. The normal free position of the spring tail pieceis sumciently close to the outer wall i oi the door to be engaged andplaced in Cil tension upon insertion of the lock cylinder into itsholder. Hence, regardless of variations in the location of the inner endof the lock cylinder with respect to the locking bolt arising fromvariations in the thickness of the door, proper engagement between thelock cylinder and the bolt will be assured.

At its lowermost end, the tail piece 26 is reduced in width to projectthrough an opening 29 in a forward extension or shelf 30 formed as anintegral part of the front Wall I8 of the frame, to cooperate with therivet 24 in guiding the bolt for straight line movement.

Carried by the forward extension or Vshelf 30 are two upwardlyprojecting arms 3l and 32. These arms are preferably integrallyconnected and provided by the arms of the U-shaped member, the closedend 33 of which is riveted or otherwise secured to the underside of theshelf 30. Both arms are channel-shaped in cross section and have arcuaterecesses 34 in their inner edges to embrace the casing 35 of the lockcylinder.

At its uppermost end, the arm 3| carries a nut 36 into which a screw 31is threaded, the screw 31 projecting through the arm 32 and having anenlarged head 38 bearing against the arm 32 so that upon threading thescrew into the nut, the upright arms will be drawn together to securelygrip the casing of the lock cylinder. As clearly shown in Figure l, theouter end 3B of the screw is disposed just inwardly of the end wall 1 ofthe door, where it is readily accessible through an opening 39 in thewall 1.

The lock cylinder 28 and its casing 35 are of any conventionalconstruction, the cylinder being equipped with the usual lockingtumblers to secure the cylinder against rotation and retractible by akey 40 to free the cylinder for rotation. The outer end of the casing isprovided with an enlarged head or ange 4I, which overlies the peripheralportion of the opening 42 in the outer wall 6 of the door.

By making the opening 42 large enough to permit a degree of motion inall directions on the part of the casing therein, and by mounting thelock cylinder from the supporting frame of the latch mechanism ratherthan from some part of the' door, inaccuracies in location of the hole42 through which the lock cylinder projects, with respect to the latchmechanism are compensated for in an extremely simple manner. Also, theprovision of the spring tail piece for the locking bolt being yieldinglyurged toward the lock cylinder accommodates variations in the distancebetween the end of the lock cylinder and locking bolt arising fromvariations in the Width of the door.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, thatthis invention aords a simple inexpensive lock mechanism for vehicledoors, so constructed that inaccuracies in the location of the cylinderholes in the door and variations in the thickness of the door arereadily compensated.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a door lock of the character described including a yieldablyprojected latch bolt and a rotatable handle to retract the latch bolt, asupporting frame mounted at a distance from one wall of the door, anactuator rotatably mounted on said frame and connected with the latchbolt and the handle for transmitting motion'from the handle to the latchbolt, a lock cylinder projecting through a hole in said wall of thedoor, means carried by said supporting frame to rotatably mount the lockcylinder with its face at said wall of the door and with its inner endadjacent said supporting frame, a driving cam on the inner end of thecylinder, a sliding locking bolt carried by the supporting frame andmovable by rotation o! the lock cylinder into and out of engagement withan actuator part to restrain the actuator against motion necessary forretraction of the latch bolt, and a connection between the slidinglocking bolt and the driving cam on the inner end ot the cylinder, saidconnection having its part which engages the cylinder cam yieldinglyurged toward the cylinder to compensate for variations in the distancebetween the supporting frame and said Wall of the door.

2. In a door lock of the character described, including a yieldablyprojected latch bolt and a rotatable handle for retracting the latchbolt, a supporting frame mounted withinthe door, an actuator rotatablymounted on said supporting frame and connected with the latch bolt andthe handle to retract the latch bolt upon rotation of the handle, arotatable lock cylinder, a casing for the lock cylinder, the assembledcasing and cylinder passing through a hole in the outer wall of the doorwith their outer ends in fixed relation to the outer wall of the doorand the inner end of the cylinder spaced from the frame a distancepredetermined by the thickness of the door, means carried by thesupporting frame to grip the casing along its length, a locking boltslidably mounted on a part of said frame for locking engagement withpart of the actuator, and cooperating means carried by the lock cylinderand said bolt for drivingly connecting the cylinder and the bore so therotation of the cylinder shifts the bolt to and from locking engagementwith the actuator part to rewall of the door, a rotatable actuatormounted on the supporting frame and operable by a rotatable handle onthe exterior of the door, a. sliding locking bolt mounted on said frontwall of the supporting frame for sliding movement into and out oflocking engagement with said actuator, a forward projection on saidfront wall of the supporting frame, a lock casing mounted on saidforward projection with its outer end received in a hole in the outerwall of the door, a rotatable lock cylinder within the casing, andcooperating means carried by the cylinder and said sliding locking boltwhereby rotation of the cylinder moves the locking bolt into and out ofengagement with said actuator part.

4. In a door locking mechanism for hollow vehicle doors, a supportingframe disposed within the door and provided with a front wall spacedfrom the front .'wall of the door, a rotatable actuator carried by thesupporting frame and operable by a rotatable handle on the exterior ofthe door, a locking bolt slidably mounted on said front Wall of theframe for engagement with an actuator part, a shelf carried by saidfront wall o1' the frame and projecting forwardly from said frame towardthe frontfwall of the door adjacent a hole in said front wall of thedoor.' a lock casing inserted through the hole in the .front wall of the76 .moves the locking bolt into and out of engagement with said actuatorpart.

5. In a locking mechanism for hollow vehicle doors, a supporting wallWithin the hollow of the door and spaced inwardly from the front wall ofthe door, an actuator having a part overlying said supporting wall andoperable by a rotatable handle mounted on the outside of the door, asliding locking bolt carried by said supporting wall and adapted to beslid into and out of engagement with said actuator part to restrain thesame against actuation in one direction, a forwardly projecting shelf onsaid supporting wall adjacent a hole in the front wall of the door, abored lock casing entering the interior of the door through said hole,means carried by said shelf to clamp and grip the lock casing and holdthe same firmly with respect to the supporting wall, the hole in thefront wall of the door being sufficiently large to accommodate a limitedshifting of the casing as required by theposition of the clamping means,a lock cylinder rotatable in the casing, and a cam on the cylinderengaging a part of the sliding locking bolt, whereby rotation of thecylinder slides the locking bolt to and from operative engagement withthe actuator part.

6. In a locking mechanism for hollow vehicle doors, a supporting wallwithin the hollow of the door and spaced inwardly from the front wall ofthe door, an actuator having a part overlying said supporting wall andoperable by a rotatable handle mounted on the outside of the door, asliding locking bolt carried by said supporting wall and adapted to beslid into and out of engagement with said actuator part to restrain thesame against actuation in one direction, a forwardly projecting shelf onsaid supporting wall adjacent a hole in the front wall of the door, abored lock casing entering the interior of the door through said hole,means carried by said shelf to clamp and grip the lock casing and holdthe same firmly with respect to the supporting wall, the hole in thefront wall of the door being sufficiently large to accommodate a limitedshifting of the casing as required by the position of the clampingmeans, a lock cylinder rotatable in the casing, a cam on the inner endof the lock cylinder, and a yieldable tail piece carried by the slidinglocking bolt and engaging the cam whereby rotation of the cylinderimparts sliding movement to the locking, bolt to move the same to andfrom operative engagement with said actuator part, and the yieldabilityof said tail piece accommodating variations in the thickness of thedoor.

7. In a locking mechanism for hollow vehicle doors, a supporting wallwithin the door spaced inwardly from the front wall of the door, anactuator having a part overlying said supporting wall and operable by arotatable handle on the exterior of the door, a sliding locking boltcarried by the supporting wall for movement into and out of operativeengagement with an actuator part to secure the same against actuation inone direction, a shelf carried by said supporting wall and projectingforwardly toward the front wall of the door, a pair of opposed uprightgripping arms carried by said shelf, screw means to draw said grippingarms together, a bored lock casing having its outer end received in ahole in the front wall of the door gripped by said upright gripping armsand held thereby in proper relative position with respect to the lockingbolt independently of the walls of the door, a lock cylinder rotatablewithin the casing, and cooperating means carried by the cylinder and thesliding locking bolt whereby rotation o! the cylinder imparts movementto the bolt.

8. In a locking mechanism for hollow vehicle doors, a supporting wallwithin the door spaced inwardly from'the front wall of the door, anactuator having a part overlying said supporting wall and operable by arotatable handle on the exterior of the door, a. sliding locking boltcarried by the supporting wall for movement into and out of operativeengagement with an actuator part to secure the same against actuation inone direction, a shelf carried by said supporting wall and projectingforwardly toward the front wall of the door, a pair of opposed uprightgripping arms carried by said shelf, screw means to draw said grippingarms together, a bored lock casing having its outer end received in ahole in the front wall of the door gripped by said upright gripping armsand held thereby in proper relative position with respect to the lockingbolt independently of the walls of the door, a lock cylinder rotatablewithin the casing, and cooperating means carried by the cylinder and thesliding locking bolt whereby rotation of the cylinder imparts movementto the bolt, said screw means for drawing the gripping arms togetherbeing readily accessible through an opening in the end wall of the doorwhereby the assembled lock cylinder and casing is readily removable.

9. In a lock mechanism for hollow vehicle doors, a supporting wallwithin the hollow of the door and spaced inwardly from the front `wallof the door, a latch actuator having a part adjacent said wall andoperable by a rotatable handle mounted on the outside off the door, asliding locking bolt carried by the supporting Wall and adapted toengage said actuator part to restrain the actuator against movement inone direction, a key controlled lock including a rotatable cylinderprojecting through a hole in the front wall of the door, means on saidsupporting wall for gripping the key controlled lock to hold the same inplace, a driving cam on the inner end of the lock cylinder, and ayieldable tail piece carriedby the sliding locking bolt and engaging thecam so that rotation of the cylinder imparts sliding movement to thelocking bolt to move the same to and from operative engagement with saidactuator part, the yieldability of said tail piece insuring drivingengagement between the cam and the tail piece regardless of variationsin the distance between said supporting wall and the inner end of thecylinder.

EDWARD N. JACOBI.

